The EROAD Australian Rally Championship (ARC) will welcome another international for the 2025 season later this year, with New Zealand star Emma Gilmour stating her commitment to run in November’s Rally Tasmania.
In what will be her first appearance in the ARC in a decade and a half, Gilmour will contest the season finale behind the wheel of the Maximum Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5 alongside West Australian co-driver Ben Searcy.
Boasting more than 20 years of experience in rallies on home soil and abroad, Gilmour has enjoyed plenty of success throughout her trailblazing career, including becoming the first woman to win a New Zealand Rally Championship round and to finish inside the top three on the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season—a feat she achieved in the 2009 season when she finished runner-up overall.
In addition to her decorated rally career, that includes up to 150 starts across all levels, including 13 FIA World Rally Championship events, Gilmour also competed in the international Extreme E Series for three years, becoming McLaren Racing’s first-ever female racing driver when she joined the team in 2022.
She completed 12 events for the world-renowned series, which included a two-race stint with Veloce Racing in 2021.
Gilmour’s Tasmanian debut will cap off an exciting tour for the Kiwi, which will see her run in the New Zealand Rally Championship’s Gold Rush Rally and Battery Town Rally Bay of Plenty, as well as the popular Ashley Forest Rallysprint before making the journey across the Tasman Sea.
“I feel fortunate to have an on-the-ground knowledgeable team supplying my rally car for this event. Combined with Ben’s experience rallying in Australia, it will give me a leg up rallying in Tasmania for the first time,” Gilmour said.
“I’m so excited to have such a cool variety of events to round off the 2025 season. Rally Tasmania will be a real highlight—competing against some of Australia’s best drivers and experiencing the Tasmanian stages for the first time. It’s a shame to miss the final NZRC round in Whangārei, but the chance to jump into a competitive car with a great team and return to the ARC was too good to pass up.
“Everyone raves about the roads in Tasmania, so I can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about.”
Gilmour will be the second international entry that Maximum Motorsport runs in its second Skoda Fabia R5 this year, with the West Australian team having guided Swedish guns Tom Kristensson and Andreas Johansson to a podium at the Forest Rally in May.
Team boss Dean Herridge was excited to lock in Gilmour for the final round of the year.
“Emma is a quality driver with a heap of experience, so we’re excited to see how she enjoys the Skoda and the Tassie roads. It’s fantastic to see her back in the ARC and she’ll no doubt be a fan favourite and is a great addition to the field,” Herridge added.
“Adding another high-calibre international driver like Emma strengthens the entry list and highlights the quality of the ARC.”
Rally Tasmania caps off the 2025 season in Burnie on 7–9 November, while the next round of the calendar is The Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally in Heyfield on 22–24 August.
